Category Archives: Salads, Sides, Snacks & Soups

Grandma Sally Makes Keskesoon

by Jessica | 16 Comments

Here’s something you should definitely put on your Shabbat menu for tonight: Keskesoon is not a complicated dish. In fact, it’s really just a pasta dish with chick peas in it. But no one makes it better than Grandma Sally, which is why we invited her to our kitchen JUST to make her specialty.

As you will see, the ingredient list isn’t so extensive. You probably have everything on hand, except maybe the teeny pasta, which you will find in most supermarket pasta aisles. Never seen it before? You probably just glanced over it because you prefer little stars in your soup than these crazy peppercorn shaped pastas. These are much better. The secret to this dish is toasting the pasta before adding the water. It adds a nutty flavor that you don’t ever associate with pasta, but just works. It also makes some of the kernels browner than others, which makes it prettier on the plate, of course.

Keskesoon was always a Friday night and holiday staple in my Grandma’s house. We ate in in our chicken soup instead of rice. We put sauce and meatballs (and eggy-surprise!) over it. We used it as a base for our Hamud, peas and kibbe, and kibbe mushroom. Basically, you won’t run out of ways to eat this stuff. Some people even enjoy it plain, and why not?

My family really only eats this with meat meals. We always make it pareve, and with oil. When I consulted Deal Delights (the red one) for the recipe, I was surprised to find how different their recipe is from ours! Theirs calls for about 6 tablespoons of butter, and baking it in a dish with grated cheese on top – keskesoon, mac and cheese style, sounds awesome. They also spell it keskasoon. I guess since it’s not an English word there is no one proper way to spell it. One day I will have to try that version, but for now I’m sticking to our traditional way of eating and spelling. How does your family make keskesoon?

Keskesoon, recipe adapted from Grandma:

Ingredients:

  • 1 box acini di pepe pasta, #44
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 can chick peas
  • 3 1/2 cups water
  • Salt

Directions:

1. Place a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the vegetable oil.

2. Open the can of chickpeas. Drain and rinse.

3. When the oil is hot, add the pasta. Swirl and mix, making sure each piece is coated in oil. Stir constantly until toasted.

4. Add the water and the chickpeas.

5. Bring to a boil, then lower, and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed.

Meatless Mondays: Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

by Jessica | 14 Comments

I admit that I don’t love the cold weather. People take up so much more room on the subways with their puffy winter coats on! But with the cold weather comes some delicious winter treats, and one of those is butternut squash. They’ve been prominent in supermarkets ever since Sukkot, and I’ve made soup with them, roasted them, and added some the pot pie. But now it’s time to add another cold-weather favorite to the mix, apple cider. I love warm apple cider, especially from the farmer’s market near Columbia on Thursdays. Yes, I schedule my grad school classes around apple cider, who wouldn’t?

So welcome winter with a totally-fitting-for-a-main-dish-salad on this Meatless Monday!

Anyway, I couldn’t pass up on this salad recipe that calls for a salad with teeny little butternut squash chunks and a warm dressing made with apple cider. The dried cranberries can’t hurt either. Usually I don’t like walnuts. I never buy them, and I never add them to my brownies or baked goods, unless my mom is coming over. She thinks walnuts make any cookie or brownie infinitely better. They actually add a nice crunch to this salad, and an extra texture, which I like. This salad has crispy lettuce, soft butternut squash, chewy cranberries, and hard walnuts. What more can you ask for in a salad? Oh, a warm dressing, obviously.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette, adapted from Ina Garten:

For the dressing:

  • 3/4 cup apple cider
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar, which I don’t have in my pantry – you can use red wine, too)
  • 2 tablespoons minced shallots (I omitted these)
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Combine the apple cider, vinegar, and shallots in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and reduce to 1/4 cup, about 6-8 minutes.

2. Off the heat, add the olive oil, Dijon, salt, and pepper.

For the salad:

  • 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch dice (about 1 1/2 pounds, if you have a scale)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 3 tablespoons dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted
  • 4 ounces lettuce, I used mixed baby greens. Ina used baby arugula.
  • Some Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. On a half sheet pan, combine the butternut squash, olive oil, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the squash becomes soft and begins to brown.

3. When the squash has been roasting for 15 minutes, add the dried cranberries to the sheet pan.

4. Place the lettuce in a large bowl and add the roasted squash and cranberries, and walnuts.

5. Spoon dressing over the top until just moistened. Toss well. Serve with a shaved Parmesan cheese.

Basil Green Goddess Dressing

by Jessica | 2 Comments

I don’t usually make creamy salad dressings. I usually make just a simple vinaigrette. While leafing through Barefoot Contessa at Home for the millionth time, this salad dressing really caught my eye, and I knew I had to try it. It has a wonderful basil flavor and a nice creamy texture. You don’t need many vegetables to make this salad extraordinary. Just lettuce, maybe some avocado and tomato. The dressing is enough to make just lettuce seem special.

I don’t have a blender. But don’t worry, this dressing was still easy to make, using my immersion blender and the measuring cup that comes with it. Actually, that might have made the task a bit easier. Not only was I able to measure the ingredients in the cup, I also stored the dressing in it and didn’t have to dirty an extra dish! Not owning a dishwasher makes you really think about that one extra cup, bowl, or spoon.

Ina’s recipe for this dressing suggests serving it with Bibb lettuce and a few tomatoes. I happened to have had some romaine lettuce in my fridge, so I just used that. I think a crispy lettuce is just perfect for this dressing, so don’t go pouring it over your baby arugula (or if you try it, let me know).

This is a perfect way to use up some of the basil in your summer garden if you’re sick of making pesto (or you just don’t have enough basil to make pesto). It’s also a good creamy salad dressing for the winter, though. Which is when I like it best.

I’ve actually never made regular Green Goddess dressing before, which is made with tarragon instead of basil. I’m not such a fan of that flavor, and I happen to love basil, so my guess is that I’d like Ina’s updated version better. She also added anchovy paste, something I don’t stock in my pantry. If you want to add it, add a teaspoon.

Not only is this a good salad dressing, but since it’s thick you can use it as a dipping sauce for veggies, a perfect mid-day snack!

Zeke, who usually doesn’t eat any salad, went back for seconds of this one.

Basil Green Goddess Dressing, adapted from Ina Garten. I halved the recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup chopped scallions, white and light green parts only (6-7 scallions)
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 cloves chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Place the mayonnaise, scallions, basil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth.

2. Add the sour cream and process until smooth.

3. Pour the dressing over salad and serve.

Marinated Beets

by Stephanie | 8 Comments

I have been making these beets every time I picked up beets from my csa, and I’m sorry for not sharing with you sooner! They are simple to make, you already have the ingredients in your pantry (I hope) and you make them one night and eat them throughout the week. I like them plain, but you can also add them to salads.

Beets are really healthy! That’s why The New York Times featured them in “Recipes for Health.” So you should make these as a healthy snack. No more potato chips for you! Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t bad-mouth potato chips; they don’t stain my hands red when I handle them! And they’re crunchy and addictive and delicious. But so are these.

Marinated Beets from The New York Times

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb beets, scrubbed and trimmed
  • 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, divided
  • salt to taste
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
  • 2 teaspoons sugar

Directions:

  1. Put the beets in a saucepan and cover with water. Add 1/4 cup of the vinegar and the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until beets are tender.
  2. Remove from heat and add garlic to the pot. Let cool.
  3. While cooling, combine the remaining vinegar and the sugar and mix until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
  4. Without draining the pot, remove the beets from the pot, peel the skins off and cut into wedges.
  5. Stir in 1/4 cup of the beet liquid and the garlic into the vinegar and sugar mixture. Toss with the beets and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  6. Remove the garlic and serve, or cover and store in the fridge for up to a week.

Meatless Mondays: Swiss Chard and Ricotta Crostata

by Jessica | 4 Comments

When Marc and Adele forgot their vegetables at my house, I got excited about the idea of using these farm-fresh veggies for a dish. It was basically just a lot of swiss chard and an onion. I used the onion, but had no idea what to do with the rainbow swiss chard. It sat in my fridge for about a week. Then, while watching the Food Network, I saw Anne Burrell make a really great looking crostata with swiss chard and ricotta cheese, something I always have in my fridge. I knew I had to try it!

I made some modifications to the recipe, mainly changing the crust altogether (I always have some dough in my fridge, so defrosting it was a big time saver). The mascarpone dough looked pretty great, so if you want to give it a try, go for it!

Swiss Chard and Ricotta Tart, adapted from Anne Burrell:

Ingredients:

  • 1 recipe flaky pie or tart dough
  • Olive oil, enough to cover a saute pan
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 leek, washed and cut into half rings
  • 1 bunch of rainbow swiss chard, stems cut into 1/4 inch strips and leaves cut into 1 inch strips
  • 2-3 tablespoons water
  • Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and add the garlic cloves and pepper flakes.

2. When the garlic is browned, remove from pan and discard.

3. Add the chopped leeks, swiss chard stems, and some water. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft and the water evaporates, about 15 minutes.

4. Add the leaves and season with more salt. Cook until the leaves wilt.

5. Remove from heat and add the ricotta, cayenne pepper, and egg.

6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

7. Roll out the dough and place on a baking sheet. It’s okay if the edges hang off a little bit, because you will fold them over.

8. Spoon the ricotta mixture in the middle. Fold over the edges. Brush edges with egg wash (oops, I forgot this step).

9. Bake for 35-45 minutes.

10. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

Pickled Ginger

by Jessica | Leave a comment

We sent my father shopping with a list that was pretty foreign to him. Luckily, the lady at the fruit store pointed him towards all the correct ingredients and we were able to make Stephanie’s soba noodle salad. Unluckily, he had no idea what the ingredients were or what quantities to get, and he came home with a foot of ginger! What did we do with all that ginger? Why, pickle it of course! Pickled ginger is definitely a staple at sushi restaurants, but now we can eat it whenever we make Asian-inspired meals.

This was a really simple recipe, something that can be whipped up on a weeknight or while doing some prep work in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound of ginger, peeled and sliced very thinly (use a mandolin or vegetable peeler)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups rice vinegar
  • 1 cup sugar

Duck Prosciutto, Take 2

by Jessica | Leave a comment

Ah, so I bet you were wondering what I did with that other duck breast. Well, I didn’t just leave it alone in the fridge to roast. I didn’t cure it the same way, either. I found a completely different recipe for duck prosciutto and experimented with that one. No, I did not confuse the two breasts hanging in my fridge at the same time (Zeke was quite confused, I might add). I liked this recipe because it called for a bunch of different spices and I got to use my mortar and pestle. I love that tool (those tools?). Continue reading …

Bizir Revisited

by Stephanie | 1 Comment

So I know I already showed you how I toast pumpkin seeds to make bizir, but the photo (that’s right, just one photo!) is ugly, so when I got a baby bear pumpkin from csa I took some better pictures for you. The technique is the same, I cleaned, rinsed and dried the seeds and then tossed them with a bit of olive oil, salt and cayenne pepper for some kick before roasting them for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. They’re a little bit harder to crack open than the ones you buy at the markets on Kings Highway, but I made them, so they’re better!

This tiny pumpkin gave me about 2 cups of puree, so get ready for some pumpkin bread and ice cream!

Meatless Mondays: Mushroom Rice

by Jessica | 2 Comments

A version of this dish is a staple in my mother-in-law’s kitchen. When we go there for barbecue on Sunday nights, we always have this delicious mushroom-y rice that she made using leftover Shabbat rice (Syrians make a lot of rice). I decided to duplicate this dish in a non-leftovers way and used brown rice to make it a little healthier. You can try it with your favorite kind of rice. Continue reading …